Its been almost a year since Samsung came up with a budet verison of their Note series, with the first one being the Galaxy Grand taken from the Note 2. Step to the present and you'll find Samsung has released another budget version, this time replicating the Note 3(atleast interms of design). We give the new Galaxy Grand 2 a spin.

Hardware

The Grand 2 is definitely an upgrade from the previous generation. A newer Quad Core 1.2 Ghz Snapdragon 400 chipset with 1.5GB RAM is slapped inside. But the internal storage largely remains the same old grumbling 8GB. You do get expandibility upto 64GB via microSD card. The Grand 2 like its predecessor, is a dual SIM phone, so is almost every other budget phone from Samsung now lately. There is an 8MP camera at the back with LED flash and a 2MP front facing. The back lens does 1080p video at 30fps while the front facing is stuck with 720p also at 30fps. The baterry comes in at 2600mAh so the battery compartment also sees an upgrade. Let's talk a little about the software on the device.

Software

With Android 4.3 and Samsung's latest Touchwiz, the phone runs pretty smooth albeit a few hiccups here and there. But nonetheless, it runs fine on a daily basis. Samsung like always tries to cram in all the possible software goodies from the flagships like multi-window and pop-up browser. Talking about performance in gaming, the device does fine when you play already-very-popular titles like Asphalt 8 etc but fails to deliver even bare minimum play experience when loaded with GTA San Andreas. One could argue and point at the game for its lack of optimization for the S400 chipset and we'd agree with a smile. After all, this is a budget device designed for people who like to have top-of-the-line features but without making a gaping hole in their pockets. A little side note for those app crazy users, there is no option of moving apps to SD card, atleast not the entire app. We hope to see this change for the good in the next update but Samsung isn't very keen in letting its users know when the next version of Android is going to be available for this device.

Camera & Battery

Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 features an 8MP camera on its back capable of snapping photos with maximum resolution of 3264x2448 pixels. There is also a LED flash to help you with the low-light scenes. Sound & shot captures a photo and records ambient sound. It sounds pretty cool - for example, you can hear the sea gulls in a beach photo or the roar of car engines at a race. The photos the Galaxy Grand 2 takes have plenty of detail, very little noise, great contrast and punchy colors. Videos captured with the Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 also offer great amount of resolved detail, accurate colors, little noise and good contrast. There are no visible artifacts and the frame rate is steady at 30 fps. Talking about the battery which stands at 2600mAH, an impressive 20 hours of calling time and good performance in both web browsing and video playback. The dual-SIM stand-by however took its toll and brought the Galaxy Grand 2 overall rating of 45 hours.

Conclusion

Plus two CPU cores, +100ppi, a bigger screen, beefier battery and looking sharper, the Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 is a sequel made in heaven. The Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 has got a bigger 5.25-inch display, but the resolution got the message too this time. A better battery was obviously in order - and the Galaxy Grand 2 delivered - yet it managed to keep almost the same footprint. The processing power was more than doubled with a quad-core CPU, a superior GPU and more RAM. The Android version is a more recent edition too.
One of the major competitors for Grand 2 is the Moto G. With its excellent price point and overall petite form factor, the Moto G may appeal to those who are on an even tighter budget but are greedy enough to wish for a Quad Core CPU, excellent battery life and an HD display, all packed in a body that is water resistant(although not officially marketed by Motorola). The Moto G will cost you around Rs.12000 to Rs.14000 and seems to a better choice for many. Well you can watch the video review down below and decide for yourself.

Author : Nadeem Ansari

Designation:Senior EditorBio:A gadget freak who can't make a day without his tiny little toys and is constantly trying to keep himself up to date with the latest events in tech history. Loves to read and write articles.